Power-operated lawn trimmer-edger



7,1967 M. I. SHEPS ETAL 3,

POWER OPERATED LAWN TR IMMER EDGER Filed March 26, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet l 4 28 2 2 INVENTORS MARTIN 1. SHEPS A CLYDE W.SHUMAN,JR.

55 49 50 5| 4 35 3 l6 ATTORNEY Nov. 7, 1967 M. SHEPS ETAL. 3,350,354

POWER-OPERATED LAWN TRIMMER"EDGER Filed March 26, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS MARTIN l. SHEPS CLYDE W. SHUMAN,UR.

jiznw 'm ATTORNEY MILLARD C. FITZGERALQJR.

Nov. 7, 1967 M. 1. SHEPS ETAL. 3,350,354

POWER-OPERATED LAWN TRIMMER-BADGER Filed March 26, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. I3

I10. INVENTORS 2| MARTIN I. SHEPS CLYDE W. SHUMAN,JR. a;

ATTORNEY W Ml LLARD C. FITZGERALQJR United States Patent POWER-OPERATED LAWN TRIMMER-EDGER Martin I. Sheps and Millard C. Fitzgerald, JL, Baltimore County, Md., and Clyde W. Shumau, Jr., State College,

Pa., assignors to The Black & Decker Manufacturing Company, Towson, Md., a corporation of Maryland Filed Mar. 26, 1965, Ser. No. 442,908 4 Claims. (Cl. 5625.4)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An improved power-operated lawn trimmer-edger is herein disclosed. This trimmer-edger comprises a motor housing including a pair of complementary mating halves joined together along a common longitudinal midplane. A motor is retained between the complementary mating halves of the motor housing. This motor includes a shaft which projects below the motor housing and has a blade mounted thereon. A wheel housing is disposed rearwardly of the motor housing. A pair of ground-engaging wheels is carried by the wheel housing along an axis which is transverse to the common longitudinal midplane of the motor housing. An elongated handle has a bent cylindrical portion which is rigidly secured to the wheel housing, and which projects forwardly therefrom into the motor housing. Means are provided for journaling this forwardly projecting handle portion in the motor housing. This journaling means includes at least one ring of anti-friction material which is disposed between the forwardly projecting handle portion and the complementary mating halves of the motor housing. A stop is formed integrally on each of the mating halves; these stops are circumferentially spaced, approximately at right angles to each other. A resiliently biased index latch is carried by the wheel housing and selectively engages one of the integrally formed stops, thereby selectively indexing the motor housing (and hence the blade) relative to the wheel housing and the ground-engaging wheels, and thereby facilitating a lawntrimming or lawn-edging operation, selectively.

Preferably, each of the complementary mating halves of the motor housing has a pair of spaced-apart semi-a11- nular grooves formed therein. The grooves in one half co-- operate with those in the other half to form a pair of spaced-apart aligned annular seats, the axis of which is substantially within the common longitudinal midplane. Each of these annular seats receives a ring of anti-friction material, disposed radially betwen the handle portion and the motor housing, thereby journaling the handle portion in the motor housing, and thereby preventing dirt from entering into the motor housing.

Further, and preferably, each of the mating halves has a rear wall formed with a rearwardly extending semiannular rib. The rib on one half cooperates with the rib on the other half to form a rearwardly extending index collar enclosed by the wheel housing. The circumferentially spaced stops are then formed integrally on this index collar, and as noted above, cooperate with the resiliently biased index latch carried by the wheel housing.

Objects of the invention The objects of the invention are to provide an improved power-operated lawn trimmer-edger having an economical construction and arrangement of parts, one which is rugged and reliable for continuous duty, and one which may be quickly and conveniently adjusted for either lawn-edging or lawn-trimming operations.

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the following specification, taken in conjunction with the enclosed drawings, in which:

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FIGURE 1 is a perspective of the power-operated trimmer-edger machine of the present invention, the machine being positioned for a lawn trimming operation;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective of the machine positioned for a lawn edging operation;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view of the machine shown in FIGURE 1, the elongated handle being broken away for convenience of illustration;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevation of the machine shown in FIGURE 3, with part of the longitudinally split motor housing being broken away to illustrate the general construction of the machine and the specific manner in which the pivoted latch member is mounted within the wheel housing for engagement with the stop means on the index collar formed by the motor housing;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged transverse section, taken along the lines 5- 5 of FIGURE 3, and illustrating, first, the manner in which the ground-engaging wheels are mounted on a transverse axle carried by the wheel housing; secondly, the manner in which the wheel housing is secured to the bent cylindrical portion of the elongated handle; and thirdly, the manner in which the pivoted latch member is resiliently biased by a spring retained between the latch member and the handle;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged transverse section, taken along the lines 6-6 of FIGURE 3, and showing the cooperative engagernent between the pivoted latch member and the stop means formed on the rearward index collar of the motor housing;

FIGURE 7 is a partial exploded perspective of the rear portion of the respective complementary mating halves of the longitudinally split motor housing, showing the manner in which the index collar is formed by cooperating semi-annular ribs on the respective mating halves of the motor housing;

FIGURE 8 corresponds substantially to that of FIG- URE 7, but illustrates the complementary mating halves secured together;

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged portion of FIGURE 4, showing the details in the construction of the pivoted latch member and its retention within the wheel housing;

FIGURE 10 is a partial perspective of the rear portion of the wheel housing, the casing being broken away to illustrate the manner in which the pivoted latch member is inserted and assembled within the wheel housing; and

FIGURES 11-15 illustrate the sequential assembly of the major components of the machine.

With reference to FIGURES 1 and 2, there is illustrated a power-operated lawn trimmer-edger machine 10 which embodies the teachings of the present invention. This machine 10 generally comprises a motor housing 11 including a pair of complementary mating halves 11a and 11b detachably secured together along a common longitudinal midplane, a peripheral skirt 12 formed along the bottom edges of the motor housing, a wheel housing 13 disposed rearwardly of the motor housing, a pair of ground-engaging wheels 14 carried by thewheel housing, an elongated handle 15 having a bent cylindrical portion 16 secured to the wheel housing, an upper control handle 17 provided with a trigger switch 18, an auxiliary hand grip 19 to facilitate the manual guidance and control of the machine,

Patented Nov. 7, 1967 is journaled in a bearing 25, and the bearing is retained by means of a strap 26 secured to the bottom mating half 11b. A rotary blade 27 is secured to the driving shaft 24 by means which includes a lock nut 28, and the blade 27 rotates within the peripheral skirt 12 and below a transverse wall 63 formed between the complementary mating halves 11a and 11b of the longitudinally-split motor housing. The blade is preferably formed as an oblong bar 29 with integrally-formed scoops 30 which assist in the lawn-edging operation of the machine; more specifically, the scoops 30 are adapted for scooping away the grass and/ or dirt overlying the sidewalk adjacent to the lawn. The details of the blade construction, however, form no part of the present invention, but rather are described in the co-pending Fitzgerald application Ser. No. 435,143, filed February 25, 1965, entitled Blade for Lawn Edger, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

With reference again to FIGURES 3 and 4, the electric motor 23 is provided with a commutator 31 engaged by electrical brushes 32 mounted in respective brush holders 33. Preferably, the brush holders are trapped between the complementary mating halves 11a and 11b of the motor housing. The bent cylindrical portion 16 of the elongated handle, which is secured to the wheel housing 13, is received rearwardly within the motor housing 11 and is journaled between the complementary mating halves 11a and 11b. In this manner, the motor housing 11 is rotatably journaled relative to the wheel housing 13 about an axis which is substantially within the common longitudinal midplane between the complementary mating halves of the longitudinally split motor housing 11.

Preferably, each of the mating halves 11a and 11b is provided with a pair of integrally-cast semi-annular grooves 34, see FIGURE 4 again; and it will be appreciated that when the mating halves 11a and 11b are joined together, the semi-annular grooves 34 cooperate with one another to form a pair of axially-spaced annular bearing seats. A pair of rings 35 (formed from an anti-friction material) are slidably mounted upon the bent cylindrical portion 16 of the elongated handle and are received within the respective bearing seats formed by the cooperating semi-annular grooves 34. Preferably, the rings 35 are formed from a molded plastic material which is readily deformable so as to compensate for any misalignments or tolerance accumulations between the handle portion 16 and the longitudinally split motor housing 11. In this manner, the rings serve the dual function of bearing journal members and an economical means to compensate for tolerance accumulations. The details of the rings 35 form no part of the present invention, but rather are described in the copending Sheps application Ser. No. 437,030, filed March 4, 1965, entitled Combination Tolerance Ring and Bearing Journal Member, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

A roll pin 36, see FIGURE 4 again, is received transversely of the handle portion 16, and the roll pin 36 (together with a washer 37 bearing against one of the semiannular grooves 34) prevents the axial withdrawal of the handle portion 16 from the motor housing.

With reference to FIGURE 3 again and with further reference to FIGURE 5, the wheel housing 13 has a pair of depending ears 38 having respective bores 39 alined with each other to form a journal for an axle 40. The axle 40 is positioned transversely of the common longitudinal midplane between the complementary mating halves 11a and 11b of the motor housing. The wheels 14 are mounted on the respective ends of the axle 40 and are retained by respective push-on caps 41. Preferably, a cover member 42 is secured to each of the wheels by tangs 42a. As shown in FIGURE 5, the bent cylindrical portion 16 of the elongated handle is secured to the wheel housing 13 by means of pairs of screws 43 which pass through respective slots 43:: in the wheel housing. The screws 43 engage respective tapped recesses formed within clamping plates 44 retained within the handle portion 16.

With reference to FIGURES 7 and 8, each of the mating halves 11a and 11b of the longitudinally-split motor housing has a rearward wall 45 formed with an integrallycast semi-annular rib 46. When the mating halves 11a and 11b are joined together, as shown in FIGURE 8, the ribs 46 form a rearwardly-extending index collar 47 having a pair of circumferentially-spaced stops 48 formed thereon.

With reference to FIGURES 9 and 10, a latch member 49 is retained within the wheel housing 13. The latch member 49 has its intermediate portion 50 pivotably supported by means of a pin 51. The pin 51 is guided within a pair of slots 52 cast integrally within the wheel housing 13. The guide slots 52 have respective ends 52a which form abutments for the laterally-extending ends of the pivot pin 51. The latch member 49 has a forwardly-extending latching portion 53 adapted to engage the stop means 48 formed on the index collar 47 of the motor housing, as shown more particularly in FIGURE 6. A transverse retaining bridge 54 is formed integrally within the wheel housing 13 and is nested between the forwardly-extending latching portion 53 of the latch member 49 and its pivotably-supported intermediate portion 50. The latch member 49 has a rearward depending stop element 55, see FIG- URE 9, which engages the bent cylindrical portion 1 6 of the elongated handle to limit the pivotable movement of the latch member 49 about its pin 51. The stop element 55, together with the retaining bridge 54, prevent the withdrawal of the latch member 49 from the wheel housing 13 subsequent to the insertion of the handle portion 16 within the wheel housing 13. The wheel housing has an access opening 56, and the latch member 49 has a rearward manually manipulatable portion 57 which extends through the access opening 56. The exposed top surface of the rearward portion 57 of the latch member 49* is formed with a plurality of serrations 58, as shown in FIGURES 3 and 10, to facilitate its manual manipulation. A compression spring 59, see FIGURE 5, is lodged between the handle portion 16 and a recess 60 formed within the rearward portion 57 of the latch member. The spring 59 constantly urges the latch member 49 into indexing engagement with the stop means 48 formed on the index collar 47 carried by the motor housing 11.

The latch member 49, as shown in FIGURE 9, may be pivoted so as to release its latching portion 53 from engagement with the stop means 48 on the motor housing, and thereafter the entire motor housing 11 may be pivoted about the axis of the bent cylindrical portion 16 of the elongated handle. In this manner, the machine 10 may be positioned for either a lawn-edging or a lawn-trimming operation. The details of the pivoted index latch member 49 form no part of the present invention, but rather are described more particularly in the co-pending Shuman application Ser. No. 443,131, filed March 26, 1965, now Patent No. 3,330,102, entitled Pivoted Index Latch for Lawn Trimmer-Edger, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

As shown in FIGURE 4, the elongated control handle 15 has a plurality of air inlet apertures 61, and cooling, air is drawn into the apertures 61 and passes down through the tubular cylindrical portion 16 of the handle and into the motor housing 11, where the cooling air is discharged through air exhaust apertures 62 formed in the upper portion of the motor housing. The air is drawn into the motor housing by means of a cooling fan 68, see FIGURES 12 and 13, which is carried on the upper portion of the motor shaft. The air flow is away from the transverse wall 63 formed between the mating halves of the motor housing. The manner in which the air is drawn in through the tubular elongated handle and is expelled out of the motor housing is considered quite old in the art and forms no part of the present invention.

With reference to FIGURES 1115, the sequential assembly of the trimmer-edger machine 10 of the present invention may be more easily understood. The bent cylindrical portion 16 of the elongated handle is received within the wheel housing 13. The screws 43, see FIGURE 5, are loosely seated in the respective tapped recesses in the clamp plates 44, the screws passing through the elongated slots 43a formed in the wheel housing 13. The molded plastic rings 35, the washer 37, and a large outer washer 64 are received on the portion of the bent cylindrical handle 16 forwardly of the wheel housing 13. The transverse roll pin 36 is assembled within alined apertures 65 formed in the handle portion 16, as shown in FIGURE 11. The electrical leads 66 (which are disposed within the elongated tubular handle are brought through the handle portion 16, see FIGURE 12, and are tied together around the roll pin 36 and are retained by a tape 67 or other suitable means. This subassembly of the handle portion 16, the wheel housing 13, the rings 35, the washer 37, and the roll pin 36, is placed and seated within the bottom mating half 1112 of the longitudinally-split motor housing, as shown in FIGURE 13. Preferably, the handle portion 17 will be pushed slightly ahead within the bottom mating half 1112, such that the washer 37 is loosely disposed with respect to the sides of its adjacent semi-annular groove 34. The rings 35, however, are seated within their respective grooves 34. The top mating half 11a of the motor housing is then placed over the bottom mating half 11b and is secured thereto by screws 21. The outer washer 64, see FIGURE 14, is then placed over the index collar 47 of the longitudinally-split motor housing, thereby keying the housing members 1111 and 11b together. Thereafter, the handle portion 16 is moved rearwardly such that the washer 37 (adjacent to the roll pin 36) is tightly received against its adjacent annular bearing seat formed by the cooperating grooves 34. Finally, as shown in FIG- URE 15, the wheel housing 13 is moved forwardly such that it encloses the index collar 47 and is brought up against the outer washer 64. Thereafter, the screws 43 may be tightened to complete the assembly.

Obviously, many modifications may be made without departing from the basic spirit of the present invention; and accordingly, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than has been specifically described herein.

We claim:

1. In a power-operated lawn trimmer-edger having a motor housing and further having an elongated handle formed with a cylindrical handle portion received within the motor housing, the improvement in means to rotatably journal the handle portion within the motor housing, which comprises:

(a) said motor housing including a pair of complementary mating halves joined together along a common longitudinal midplane;

(h) each of said mating halves having a pair of spacedapart semi-annular grooves formed therein;

(c) the grooves in one half cooperating with those in the other half to form a pair of spaced-apart alined annular seats, the axis of which is substantially within the common longitudinal midplane;

(d) a ring of anti-friction material received in each of said seats, radially between the handle portion and the motor housing, thereby journaling the handle portion in the motor housing; and

(e) means selectively indexing the motor housing in at least two predetermined circumferential positions relative to the handle.

2. In a power-operated lawn trimmer-edger having a motor housing, a wheel housing rearwardly of the motor housing, an elongated handle having a portion secured to the wheel housing, and means mounting the wheel housing and the motor housing for relative rotation therebetween, the improvement in means to selectively index the motor housing and the wheel housing with respect to each other, which comprises:

(a) said motor housing including a pair of complementary mating halves joined together along a com mon longitudinal midplane;

(h) each of said mating halves having a rear wall formed with a rearwardly-extending semi-annular rib;

(c) the rib on one half cooperating with the rib on the other half to form a rearwardly-extending index collar enclosed by said wheel housing;

(d) circumferentially-spaced stop means formed on said index collar; and

(e) a resiliently-biased index latch pivotably mounted on said wheel housing on an axis transverse to the common longitudinal midplane for selective engagement with said stop means on said index collar, thereby selectively indexing said wheel housing with respect to said motor housing.

3. A power-operated lawn trimmer-edger, comprising:

(a) a motor housing including a pair of complementary mating halves joined together along a common longitudinal midplane;

(b) a motor retained between said complementary mating halves of said motor housing; said motor including a shaft projecting below said motor housing and having a blade mounted thereon;

(c) a wheel housing rearwardly of said motor housing;

(d) a pair of ground-engaging wheels carried by said wheel housing along an axis transverse to said common longitudinal midplane of said motor housing;

(e) an elongated handle having a bent cylindrical portion rigidly secured to said wheel housing and projecting forwardly therefrom into said motor housing;

(f) means journaling said forwardly projecting handle portion in said motor housing; said journaling means including at least one ring of anti-friction material disposed between said forwardly projecting handle portion and said complementary mating halves of said motor housing;

(g) a stop formed integrally on each of said mating halves; said stops being circumferentially spaced, approximately at right angles to each other; and

(h) a resiliently biased index latch carried by said wheel housing and selectively engaging one of said integrally formed stops, thereby selectively indexing said motor housing, and hence said blade, relative to said wheel housing and said ground-engaging wheels, and thereby facilitating lawn-trimming or lawn-edging operations, selectively.

4. The power-operated lawn trimmer-edger of claim 3,

wherein:

(a) said ring of anti-friction material is mounted on said forwardly projecting handle portion; and wherem:

(b) each of said complementary mating halves of said motor housing has a semi-annular groove formed therein, the groove in one half communicating with the groove in the other half to form an annular seat receiving said ring.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS ABRAHAM G. STONE, Primary Examiner.

P. A. RAZZANO, Assistant Examiner. 

1.IN A POWER-OPERATED LAWN TRIMMER-EDGE HAVING A MOTOR HOUSING AND FURTHER HAVING AN ELONGATED HANDLE FORMED WITH A CYLINDRICAL HANDLE PORTION RECEIVED WITHIN THE MOTOR HOUSING, THE IMPROVEMENT IN MEANS TO ROTATABLY JOURNAL THE HANDLE PORTION WITHIN THE MOTOR HOUSING, WHICH COMPRISES: (A) SAID MOTOR HOUSING INCLUDING A PAIR OF COMPLEMENTARY MATING HALVES JOINED TOGETHER ALONG A COMMON LONGITUDINAL MIDPLANE; (B) EACH OF SAID MATING HALVES HAVING A PAIR OF SPACEDAPART SEMI-ANNULAR GROOVES FORMED THEREIN; (C) THE GROOVES IN ONE HALF COOPERATING WITH THOSE IN THE OTHER HALF TO FORM A PAIR OF SPACED-APART ALINED ANNULAR SEATS, THE AXIS OF WHICH IS SUBSTANTIALLY WITHIN THE COMMON LONGITUDINAL MIDPLANE; (D) A RING OF ANTI-FRICTION MATERIAL RECEIVED IN EACH OF SAID SEATS, RADIALLY BETWEEN THE HANDLE PORTION THE MOTOR HOUSING, THEREBY JOURNALING THE HANDLE PORTION IN THE MOTOR HOUSING; AND (E) MEANS SELECTIVELY INDEXING THE MOTOR HOUSING IN AT LEAST TWO PREDETERMINED CIRCUMFERENTIAL POSITIONS RELATIVE TO THE HANDLE. 